WSUM student radio will fill a long-standing gap in Madison radio when it hits the airwaves at 2:22 p.m. Friday, on 91.7 FM.
The Federal Communications Commission licensed the station in the spring of 1996, yet a long battle with the residents of Montrose, Wis., over the location of the radio tower has pushed back its launch date countless times. The city of Montrose mainly opposed the building of the tower for aesthetic purposes.
But the final appeal by the town of Montrose went before the county board in April 2001. A Dane County judge refused to issue an injunction to stop building the tower in October and it was built in December.
\It's been a long road for the people at WSUM,"" said DJ Maayan Silver, a UW-Madison law student. ""There's so much cool stuff going on here and the whole campus has no clue.""
Silver will be the first DJ to broadcast on the airwaves. Her show, ""Alchemy,"" runs from 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday afternoons. She said she is planning a celebratory theme for the show, which features world, jazz, hip-hop and house music.
According to Programming Director Jacob Huele, WSUM is a free-form, noncommercial station. DJs choose their own formats, which range from jazz to indie-rock and punk.
""We try to play stuff different from commercial radio,"" he said, adding that he believes that the format will set it apart from other local stations.
Besides the format, Silver said because of UW-Madison's size, student radio is an important contribution.
""We, as students, need a station,"" she said.
The purpose of WSUM as a station is to promote ""a student-run community,"" according to General Manager Dave Black. He added that the station is always looking for student DJs and welcomes anyone to tour the station and get involved.
The transition from Internet to radio has been a relatively smooth process, according to Huele. No major programming changes were needed to complete the changeover.
""We've been acting as if we were on the radio the entire time, so there haven't been a lot of changes to make,"" Huele said.
Silver, however, said she may have to make some changes in terms of broadcasting.
""I might have to start being more professional,"" she said. ""There is a lot of freedom on the Internet. I could play stuff that attracted just me or people I knew.""
Promotions may prove to be the biggest challenge for WSUM. The station hosts an annual ""Party in the Park"" in the spring which showcases area groups and provides an alcohol-free event for students and community members.
""Our promotions board has been doing a ton,"" Silver said. ""I think the main way for WSUM to spread will be through word of mouth'just people talking about it and telling their friends.""
Black said he has similar feelings regarding station publicity.
""We don't have the biggest advertising budget in the world,"" he said, citing storefront signs and newspaper ads as the station's main advertising thus far. ""We figure if we focus on quality of programming, then quality will beat out [advertising] style.""
WSUM will continue to broadcast over the Internet through Friday morning at .
Plans to continue Internet broadcast after the station's on-the-air launch date remain uncertain.
